Drinking Out
by Stormfoedt
Summary: The Title says it all, really. A few One-shots where some people had a little too much to drink. Nothing serious, don't fret regarding the lack of action. Kind of a cute little NaLu moment in there somewhere, and some drama ;)
1. Whiskey Express and Crimson Baths

***This was supposed to be the drunken chapter I promised some of my reviewers in the story Forgotten, but alas, due to some things happening afterwards if the story headed this way it had to be removed. It is all explained in chapter nine of that particular story, should I ever choose to reveal it. This was too good to just waste, though, so it became a oneshot instead :)

I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters of its storyline...***

Hm... warm. Feels good. I felt like staying like this forever, but somewhere, deep within, a warning bell kept ringing. Annoying son of a bitch noise that was really annoying and wouldn't shut up. Oh, god, I think I'm going to be...

I flung my eyes open, leaned over to the side and puked all over the floor. What the hell did I do in my bathroom? When did I get here? And why the hell were I laying fully dressed in the bathtub that currently were filled to the brim with scorching hot, pink water. Oh, here we go again..

I leaned over the side and puked some more. Why is the water pink? My puke reeked of.. alcohol? Damn, that's why. I remembered vaguely making a bet with Cana on who could drink... I don't remember how many shots or what were in them, but betting against CANA? How stupid could I be? Wait... Cana? Come on, brain... Brunette. Barrel of alcohole... Ah, Cana. WHY THE FUCK DID I MAKE A BET REGARDING ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION WITH A BEING THAT APPARENTLY DRINKS FROM A BARREL ON A DAILY BASIS?! Sheesh... the screaming WITHIN my head made my head hurt.

"My god, my head feels like it's gonna crack open at any given moment," I mumbled groggily, and proceeded to puke some more. This is it. I sat up, felt my head spin, but prevailed, put one foot on the floor. One more. SWIIIISH..! Indeed, I found myself sprawled in my own vomit.. on my bathroom floor... with no idea how I got here. I gagged at the smell, but managed to keep it down until I reached the toilet. I'm not EVER going to drink again. How did Cana even survive? I stayed by the toilet until I only spewed gall, and then proceeded to get up. The world was spinning.

NEVER AGAIN, I swore to myself once more as I walked into my own spew (ewwwww...) to gain access to my mirror so I could get an idea of how bad it was. Bad. VERY bad. I looked like a drowned cat, drenched and covered with bits and pieces of vomit. My shirt stuck even more to my body than earlier, and was a bit, no.. VERY see-through. My hair clung to my head in a huge tangle, and did I spot dried blood in there? What the... what had I been doing?! I sighed, and stared at the floor. Was it even humanly possible to have so much... content in my body? I had no wish to deal with this right now, so I did the only thing I could think of. I took all the towels I could find and tossed them on the floor, let them do the hard work. Then I discarded my clothing, went into the shower and put it as cold it could be.

Finally cool, and slightly more awake, though I still couldn't walk straight for the life of me, I got out of the shower, and went into the bedroom looking for something to wear. I had my last remaining towel wrapped around me, and noticed the bright shining lights keeping the darkness away. First point for Drunk me. At least I remembered turning on the light before passing out in the bathtub. Jeez... why the bathtub anyways? And WHY the pink water? Awww... why did I have to have SO much clothing... It made so hard finding stuff. I stared at all the things I could possibly wear, and sighed. It hurt thinking about it. And what about the blood in my hair? Blood. Pink water. Blood makes water pink... I chose to forget about it as soon as I figured the connection. ONE less thing to worry about.

I managed to find some grey sweats, and a loose black top to go with it. I fell when I attempted to step into the pants, but continued on the ground. Finally dressed. Where am I again? Home. That was the first answer that came to mind, so I stuck with it. Then, still staggering, I went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water.

"Lucy? You there?" a voice called, and I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead on the kitchen bench. I grunted a reply, and heard footsteps.

"I just came by to tell you I'm done... with the mission. What's wrong?" I heard Natsu, yup, my brain recalled him without having to look through my jumbled mind of images.

"Drunk..." I grumbled, decided to stick with monosyllables if possible.

"What?" he asked. Again. Annoying... I raised my head to face him, stumbled sideways one step, another. Halt.

"I said..." I lifted my finger to point accusingly, without much success.

"I'm DRUNK!" I exclaimed, and used my hand to support myself on the bench since pointing made it harder to stand. Natsu stared at me in shock for a moment, and then grinned.

"Did Mira accidentally give you beer again?" he said while closing in on me.. didn't know why. I sat down on my bum, feeling a slight sting as I landed, and crossed my arms as I stared at him.

"NO... I challenged Cana to a drinking contest..." said, and sat back as I tried recalling how the hell I got back. Natsu squatted in front of me.

"Now that I can't believe. You may be many things, but a heavyweight when it comes to alcohol is not one of them. Come on, time for bed," he took hold of my arm, and dragged me up in a standing position. He pointed at the bed, and started walking towards it, still with a firm grip around my wrist.

"It smells weird in here..." he mumbled, before removing the duna, stepping away in order to let me pass.

"YOU smell weird," I countered while pointing my tongue out at him. He chuckled.

"I'll allow it this once, since it's you and since you're obviously drunk.." he trailed off as he sniffed the air, and then leaned closer to me.

"Whiskey? Really?" he said, seemed amused when I just stared at him. He was really close... If I moved just a little bit... I blushed at the very thought. Wait, did he blush too..? Then he stepped back once again.

"Now shoo, into bed with ya," he yanked my wrist again, and I fell onto the bed. My head hurts... I thought silently while closing my eyes. Should I be... sleeping?

***FLASHBACK***

_**WARNING: __DRUNKEN chapter ahead. No, I wasn't drunk when I wrote it, but Lucy was. VERY drunk too, I might add. For all followers that like my chapters nice and grammatically correct, beware, this one isn't one of those. Sorry, but I really needed to make it authentic, and by the gods, did I have fun!**_**  
**

I were sitting with Cana, both of us singing some jolly song about something, equally drunk and happy, while for once sharing that big barrel of alcohol she always had around. I were still hot, but minded it less in my drunken state. I knew few of the songs we sang, and even if I did I doubted they would sound right considering the amounts of alcohol I had, *hick*, injested. I giggled. Injested. Injested Injested InJESTED. People seemed rather amused by this side of me. Cana loved it.

"Yo." Gray sat down next to me, giving me a glance-over.

"Yo.. hic. 'Sup?" I giggled, and he smiled.

"No lightweight, huh? Who would've known the great Lucy Heartfilia could keep up with Cana, of all people" he said it and chuckled, and I looked at him, tilting my head ever so slightly and making the world spin for a bit.

"Heartfil.. hic..ia? Kinda name is.. hic that?" I tried frowning, it being very hard when I just wanted to smile. This made him frown, however.

"Yours," he said, and I started laughing out loud. Yep, it was the afternoon slash evening, I had been drunk for hours, and people slowly had started to arrive in similar states. Celebrating my newfound talent... 'parently. Jeez, what kind of.. *hic* person was I before?

"Dunno 'bout that.. hic. Oh.. hic.. god. It's late, aint it, hic?" I got up, stumbled slightly, before regaining my composure. Scratch that, regaining a form of stalemate between standing still and falling.

"Careful there.. want help getting home?" he said. I noticed that he wasn't too steady himself.

"Hehe. Graaaaay.. you..hic..'re drunk too, y'know!" I put my hand over his shoulder for a minute, clanking a glass I were holding with the one he was holding. Didn't know where they came from, didn't care.

"For Heart..hic, ifilialial.. hic.. whoever that.. hic.. might be!" I shouted, and we downed our drinks. I let go of him and shoved him lightly, laughing really hard as he toppled over and fell asleep on the floor.

"M'gosh! Did ya see that, Cana! He just.. hic.. fell!" I laughed so I almost toppled over myself, and had to lean on the table while waiting for the laughter to subside. I stumbled towards the door, getting a few catcalls slung after me, and then I got out. My smile faltered. The sun had almost set.

"Shit..." I mumbled, and started running in zigzag.. or somethin' like that towards my street. Should've seen it comin'... I toppled over, barely avoided falling into the water, and hit my head hard on the curb.

"Fuck.. hic," I mumbled as black dots moved around messing even more with my blurred and tilted vision. Wait... tilted.

"'m lyin'.. hic down," I stated, and tried moving my body. Come on, body... I sat up, saw that I lay very close to home. Might be good I, *hic*, fell, or I might've passed it. I got up, moved a few feet, and fell again.

"Ain't good 'nough.." I mumbled, and started crawling towards my door instead. Better.

I somehow managed to get inside, lock the door, and then crawling up the stairs where I put on all the lights. Yup. I might be drunk, but I remembered.

"'kay, Lucy... you need.. hic a bath. Yup, a BATH," I giggled at my newfound habit of speaking to myself, before crawling over to the bathtub, turning on the sink. HOT water.

"Just 'cause I want to.. hic, and 'cause I.. hic like it HOT," I exclaimed the last word as I watched the nearly boiling hot water fill the tub.

Didn't bother undressin', too much of a hassle and WAY too much effort. I simply stopped the faucet and crawled into the tub with clothes and all. Felt a little sting in the back of my head, but who cared?

"Whoa.. feels good.. hic." I slowly leaned my head back and let it sink into te water, colouring the water pink...

*******_Guess who had too much vodka and just experienced one hell of a day. Yep, that would be me, hence this random chapter I made purely to make things more complicated, or something. Now, if nothing else, I will not be the only one going through a terrible hangover. Vodka might be the water of life, folks, but it sure dislikes the morning after..._

_Some might be thinking by now that Natsu should have seized the moment and kissed her. Yep, not my style making it all simple like that. In case you haven't noticed, they're pretty much oblivious to what I have in stall for them. Ah, the time is near. If you go back a bit you might also notice the cliffhanger I left you guys. Ah, nothing like a little cliffhanging in the morning ;)_

_Anyways. I kind of feel like I'm spoiling you all with my consecutive updates, and I will warn you that this is bound to stop at some point, wether we like it or not. Until then, though, lets seize the moment, unlike Natsu, and enjoy this funny chapter while waiting for more serious stuff to come*******_


	2. Hide and Seek

***I felt that my last one-shot seemed lonely where it was all by itself, my only story to ever only consist of ONE singular chapter. So I wrote this one while feeling inspired, and decided to post it.

I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline***

It is that feeling you have when you wake up the morning after and think «where am I?». This usually would be followed by «By the gods I shouldn't have drunk that much..». Did I remember much after the.. let's say fifth shot (though really, there probably were many more)? Why no. No I did not.

Since the past pretty much remained a jumbled mess of things I didn't remember and a few things I wished I didn't remember, I decided to go for the things that seemed more important at the moment. Like where I was. I wasn't at home, that I could confer. I wasn't even inside. So.. where was I, and how did I get back home, or back to the guild, or at least back to SOME kind of civilization that could tell me how to get to those places.

At the moment the only absolute truths I could establish was that I was Lucy Heartfilia, I had been drinking WAY too much, and I was currently situated in some forest. By the looks of it, I was also alone. YAY me.

A certain amount of stupidity usually followed being a member of the notorious Fairy Tail. Especially if you joined in on the drinking games governed by the guild drunk, Cana Alberona. Which would be around where my memories became hazy and eventually completely blank. WHY did I agree to that?

Why did.. oh. With a sigh I recalled the incident which led to that catastrophic game that eventually led me here. Wherever HERE was. She'd CHALLENGED Erza. And Erza had of course insisted that this challenge involved the whole of Team Natsu.

Yes. We were supposed to be on some mission today, and we'd been drinking ourselves senseless yesterday. If the drinking had been yesterday. What did I know, this might be next week for all I knew. **X **Eventually I got up from my weird sprawled out position on the ground, started walking since my surroundings hardly would give me any more clues as to my whereabouts. By the looks of it, I was still slightly drunk, something that evidently would be the reason why I hadn't keeled over due to the massive hangover this day had in store for me.

I walked for a while in the brightly good day, the sun rising above me and openly mocking my somewhat unsteady steps in some forest I knew nothing about. Somewhere along the way I found Gray groaning by the riverside, mostly naked, but oddly enough NOT wearing his own clothing. Wait. Was that MY skirt?! I blinked a few times before I decided that I was too drunk still to really care, so I picked up a stick and started poking him instead.

After a few minutes he was alive enough to somehow drag his battered body out of the calm water he had been laying in. As he sat up, looking up at me, he breathed out.

"Do you..?" he asked, didn't finish his question. I reached out a hand to help him up, which he happily accepted. He too was still drunk to some degree, it would seem.

"No. I have no idea. Not where we are or where anyone is nor what happened last night." I said, and we continued on our journey to find something indicating where we at the moment found ourselves.

"Wait. I know where we are. We're close to the pond." Gray suddenly put in, and I looked at him, quickly looked away since taking a guy in a skirt seriously was increasingly difficult, not made any easier with his way of handling it. He was wearing my skirt splendidly.

"Really?" I asked. Now when he mentioned it, the fauna DID bear some similarity with the pond where Natsu at times could be found fishing with Happy. IF that was indeed the pond we were speaking about. And similar fauna... that would include most forests surrounding Magnolia. Well, that might still be good news. We remained close to the town. Good. Or not. A lot of forests looked alike. Only one way of finding out I guess.

We kept staggering along. The sky was bright blue, not a cloud in sight, a very nice day where I might spend the day sunbathing in my bikini, having no worries but the lecherous Master, and the idiots I had the pleasure of being on the same team with. Yes, even on perfect days like this Natsu and Gray would probably find a way to mess things up. A new mission. Some fight. A prank that ALWAYS ended in disaster.

Of course, all that would indicate that the day started off nicely. I had found myself waking up sprawled on the forest floor today. Not the best start. Next I found Gray laying about for what I would assume to be roughly the same reason. Wearing my skirt, which I would burn in time, by the way.

A sound caught our attention, and we moved towards it until we discovered its source. I kind of wish we hadn't. In some bush Cana Alberona was situated with some unknown blonde guy, making out hotly while being very scarcely dressed. Yeah. That was sort of awkward. Gray coughed, and Cana looked up, flushed but not embarrassed. She took one look at us and smirked.

"Gray, your clothes." she commented, and true enough, the boy was starch naked. I roared a loud NO when he asked me if he couldn't borrow my underwear and got kicked into the woods. Since he didn't emerge right away I guess he went looking for his, or rather my, missing skirt.

"I'd say the two of you just returned after doing the nasty by the look of you, but you're wearing the wrong clothes," Cana directed at me, didn't seem very worried by the guy she was sitting in the lap of. First now I noticed my own garb, NOW wondering how I hadn't thought about it before since Gray was wearing MY clothing. Well, not all of it, but... I was wearing the pants and the vest of the other male member belonging on my team. Natsu Dragneel had to be somewhere, either wearing the clothes of someone else or just his underwear.

"Now, off you go, I'm in the middle of something.." she smiled, and I decided that she probably wouldn't have any of the answers I wanted, so I did as she bid. I left her and the unknown boy alone, dragged the almost naked Gray with me as he reappeared with my skirt once more. With a quick glare to keep him from going back to the brunette we continued to wander.

"Do you know why I'm wearing his clothes?" I asked after some time, and my teammate shrugged, yawned and looked slightly bored.

"Must've happened somewhere around the truth or dare mostly run by Cana and Mira," he suggested.

"Truth or dare?" I questioned.

"Ah, you DID participate in that shot-round with Cana. You wouldn't remember the truth or dare after." he replied.

"You participated in that too. Everyone in Team Natsu participated, except Happy." I said. All of us had become contestants no matter what we had to say on the matter.

"I made my escape early. You should've too." he smiled, and I groaned. Like I could make my escape while being trapped in between Erza and Natsu. I had to suffer through the whole ordeal. Gray probably DID sneak out early, when I thought about it. At some point only four shot-glasses did make their rounds. One for me, then Erza, Natsu and Cana.

I didn't remember who won, though I would assume it to be the one making out somewhere behind us. I DID remember that Erza would be the loser, giving in rather quickly only to go on a rampage in the guild. The only one remaining then would be Natsu and I against Cana. I should've made my escape by then, but alas, I think it was too late in any case. I was VERY drunk.

"Probably..." was my final answer, back in the present. The ice mage chuckled, but said nothing. He probably knew that sitting between the two others would doom me from the second I made that stupid decision.

The next one we encountered would be the fire mage of destruction in person, Natsu Dragneel. He was actually awake by then, sitting with his face in his hands, either trying to remember or trying to forget the things that had played out while having his legs dangling in the lake he and Happy usually would be seen fishing from. At least I now knew where we were.

"Yo, ash-for-brains." Gray announced our presence with his usual gracefulness, thus making the boy look up. Yes. Still drunk. He spotted me, and recognition passed over his features.

"My clothes." he said, clearly confused, and I nodded. He didn't know either. Of course, the two of us had been engaged in the drinking game with Cana for the longest period of time.

"Your clothes." I confirmed. He looked so utterly stunned that I had to smile, and eventually laugh. There he sat, only clad in his boxers and scarf, finally finding his clothing that he probably had been missing for some time. Soon we all laughed and eventually settled by the pond, me in between the boys in order o prevent too much violence.

"So, how much do YOU remember?" I asked my pinkhaired partner, and he smiled brightly.

"Nothing much. I DO remember you taking my clothes though. Thought it was a dream. And Stripper took yours." he declared. Okay.

"Was it during the truth or dare?" asked Gray, ignored the insult just as Natsu had ignored his.

"WHAT truth or dare? We had truth or dare?" came Natsu.

"Yes. After the drinking contest." Gray replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No we didn't." Natsu denied, also bearing that same voice.

"Yes, we did." Gray said, and I had a feeling they were VERY close to start a fight.

"BOYS!" I stopped them both before anything could happen. We were all drunk, so the distraction was effective, for now.

"What? We didn't. I guess Icicles don't remember being hauled through a wall by Erza after he was dumb enough to get too close." Natsu said, and I saw Gray wince as he apparently recalled that incident.

"Oh..." the ice mage said, touching the back of his head where the blunt trauma probably had rendered him unconscious for some time.

"Yeah.." Natsu seemed to be recalling the incident as well. He probably didn't get away unscathed from the drunk Erza either.

"So when DID I put on your clothes?" I asked, since this was a good question. If he recalled that incident and not the truth or dare then WHEN did I change?

"After we lost against Cana. Apparently we had to accept one dare each if we lost." he said. Okay.. So I had CANA to thank for this one.

"Explains why I never remembered when she changed during the truth or dare." Gray put in.

"There was NO truth or dare!" Natsu protested.

"There WAS! You probably don't remember, just like Lucy." Gray yelled louder, and the two of them were just about to get up when I grabbed their ears and pulled them down beside me again.

"BOYS! Come on. Does anyone remember WHY we're in the woods?" I asked. This was like a freaking guessing game.

"Hide and seek." the boys spelled out at the same time, glared at each other due to the unwelcome act of similarity. Things like this tended to happen more often than any of the two would be likely to admit.

"Against who?" I asked, dreaded the answer. Something told me that since this was Fairy Tail, and since massive amounts of alcohol had been involved, this wouldn't be the average kind of hide and seek.

"Mira." Natsu replied, a shiver moving up his back. I doubted it was there due to the fact that he was pretty much naked, especially since he remained very undressed too often without reacting at all.

"Oh god. What happens if she finds us?" I didn't really want to know, but at the same time felt that I needed to.

"Punishment," Gray answered. Punishment. Of course. Of course there was a punishment. And Mira would be the one to hand it out. Great.

"We need to find a better hiding place." I said. Just then a shrilling scream could be heard, and we turned to see the person in question standing behind us with the possibly evillest grin I had ever seen the woman with.

"I KNEW I'd find you two here!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together, and I turned to notice that SOMEHOW Gray had made his escape unnoticed. What the..

"RUN! Natsu yelled, grabbed my hand and took off. I had no time to react other than accompany the boy, laughing as the woman took on her demon form and started the pursuit. We both knew that the escape was pretty much futile, but we ran none the less, for a true Fairy never gives up.

That was the time we all got drunk, went into the woods while playing hide and seek. The rest of the day would be spent by the few not still drunk or terribly hangovered that would look for passed out Fairies in the woods, in between avoiding Mira that was still pretty involved in the game.

***There you go. It COULD probably become more than one chapter if I REALLY put my mind to it, but nah. It works as a one-shot too***


	3. Tequila

***It's always fun trying out new ideas, so here we got ourselves another one shot from one of the late nights spent at the guild named Fairy Tail. Because drinking has a tendency to lead directly to bad decisions. I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. Doesn't mean I don't like making them dance for me every one in a while.***

"I will kill you…" I muttered in a dark voice, dripping with promises of what awaited the boy next to me. Or rather, the boy that currently was halfway on top of me. Don't ask. Just.. don't.

"What? Why?" mentioned boy questioned, and I felt myself reaching a new height of rage due to his natural stupidity that kept the idiot from seeing the reason WHY I presently considered different ways of dismembering him.

"Why? WHY?! Do I REALLY need to tell you that?" I spat out, and as I kind of anticipated he went RIGHT into the trap that everyone else I knew, including HAPPY, would've seen coming.

"YES!" he yelled. FINE THEN. I would BLOODY SPELL IT OUT FOR HIM!

"YOU… YOU..! YOU.. YOU MADE her angry with us!" I yelled.

"NO, she is DRUNK! She called me ELFMAN!" Natsu yelled back. Despite himself the dolt actually managed to utter something that made sense. Yes, SHE was drunk. Yes, SHE HAD in fact called him Elfman. Oddly enough I remained Lucy even in her intoxicated state.

"You should've hid like everyone else!" I yelled in my defense. I STILL blamed my partner for the predicament we found ourselves in at the moment.

"I don't HIDE. YOU didn't hide!" he yelled back, frustrated to say the least and FINALLY reacting to my rage. His statement was TOO true. Even on my first day in Fairy Tail, when everyone made a run for it after Master made his titanic entrance. He had walked into the trap by not hiding then too. I had not, however, been caught up in that particular event. Such as now.

"She usually leaves me ALONE unless she's aggravated!" I replied. Truly. SHE did. SHE would leave me alone as longs I stayed by her side. There had been a few close calls, but we were friends. I was one of her few close female friends too. It earned me some extra points, even when SHE was drunk?

"Aggravated?" Natsu questioned. Oh... Of course. Big word.

"When someone annoys her, like YOU!" I explained to him.

"Oh.. HEY!" he protested when he noticed the insult in that statement.

"And like I said, I WILL KILL YOU!" I restated my first statement.

"ARE YOU MAKING UP IN THERE? JET AND DROY, YOU NEED TO APPRECIATE YOUR FRIENDSHIP!" came the yell from the outside. Yes. The OUTSIDE. WHY? Because Natsu didn't see the harm in drunkenly challenging a drunk Erza in front of everyone.

She didn't recognize the challenge. She didn't even recognize HIM. She DID however recognize the tone of his voice, which she misinterpreted as a voice of someone who was picking a fight. Which didn't really make sense, since Natsu had sounded more excited than angry, as per usual when he challenged her. So she thought he was picking a fight. Since I had already deducted that I had nowhere to hide at the time I had stayed by her side.

Usually that went fine. But this time… THIS time she thought my partner picked a fight. Not with HER. No. With the only other person in the area. Which would be me, by the way. So she decided that we should make up. Therefore she dragged us over to a closet, chucked us in, closed the door, and here we were.

"She called us Jet and Droy…" Natsu mumbled, quieter now since Erza obviously had been alerted by our loud voices. At least he saw the possible danger NOW, though it was a tad late for that.

"This is YOUR fault." I whispered angrily, jabbed his chest with a finger. I hadn't even been drinking today. Had wanted to leave the guild early. Then THIS happened.

"Is NOT." he whispered back, denying my accusation.

"It is. And now we have to *make up*. What were we supposedly fighting over anyways?" I asked the last question half in wonder. Erza WAS indeed drunk, but at times her ludicrous actions actually DID have something to them.

"She called us Jet and Droy. I don't think there's an actual fight." for once, the boy had a point. I guess, perhaps, the redhead on the other side of this door just happened to be piss drunk, at the moment, by the sound of it, making Natsu and Gray stop fighting. Only Natsu was in here, with me. I wondered who she was currently busy killing.

"How long do you suppose she'll keep us here?" I asked quietly, and I felt Natsu shrug. It was a cramped closet, this. I had been tossed so I lay on the ground, Natsu had landed on top of me. Somehow he had managed to shuffle so he at least had his knees planted on the ground, but the limited space still made it difficult to maintain a personal sphere. So he was on his knees, yes. I was sitting up to. The limited space made him lean over me. At least Erza hadn't picked the small closet. This wasn't the largest one, granted, but we had space to move. A bit.

"I want to go home…" I complained loudly, and if there had been any lights my partner would've seen me pouting. Not that it would've had much of an effect. My womanly wiles had no effect on the boy, even when he was drunk.

"Well, we're supposed to be making out.."

"Making UP, " I corrected him before he could continue.

"Whatever, same thing.. Anyways, why don't we just PRETEND to be making out?"

"Seriously. Making up and making out is NOT the same!" I raised my voice slightly as it started getting hysterical. Was that a squeal I heard on the outside? Oh god. No. NO. She wouldn't DARE… Silence. Erza stopped rampaging for a moment.

"HAVE YOU TWO MADE OUT YET?!" came the next yell from the redheaded fury, and I mentally cursed a certain beauty that had too much fun messing around with peoples love lives.

"See? It IS the same." Natsu mused. Damn that Mirajane, and damn that idiot of a partner of mine. He was intoxicated too, which made his judgement at times even lamer than usual, though he had his moments of clarity.

"It isn't!" I repeated indignantly.

"The people within these runes.." wait.. was that Freed?

"..will not be let out before they make out." Freed ended. Ah, fuck. I sighed inwardly, then decided to end this right away. I would go out, and I would PERSONALLY notify drunk Erza of the culprits whereabouts so she could kill him instead of trying to make us make up after a none existent fight. Or, as it was at the moment, before we were made to make out due to some major misspelling. If it WAS misspelling from Freed. If it wasn't, I would see to killing him myself. Perhaps I would, anyways. Hm. First we needed to get out.

"Natsu, get us out of here." I ordered my intoxicated friend.

"No, I'm not STUPID. If we get out she's going to KILL us!" he protested.

"NOW you decide that facing her would be a bad idea!? Get me out NOW, OR YOU WILL HAVE TO FACE ME!" I put my loud and scary voice on, a voice I knew he feared. Hopefully it would motivate him to do as I said. Before he could do as I said however, he suddenly leaned closer and pushed me closer to the ground right before I heard the sound of a sword penetrating wood.

"MAKE OUT, NOW!" came the commanding voice of Titania, and the murder dripping from her voice made me react instantly due to the immediate solution waiting right in front of me. I grabbed the back of his neck and raised my own head in order to accomplish my goal.

I was not a good kisser. At least I didn't think so. That would require experience, which I didn't have. As such, I could only guess that I wasn't a horrible kisser, or perhaps was the boy either too flabbergasted or too drunk or maybe even too scared to pull away. Electricity moved through my body, made me shiver as I contemplated what I had to do in order to make it out of the rune cage. I would absolutely NOT be doing this again.

Warmth. I could not see my partner, but I FELT him. I felt my hand on his neck, my lips against his, his body that still remained above me in this cramped up space. There was a grunt from him as he probably questioned what the hell was going on before he, apparently, decided that he should test out if I was food. He BIT me. He BIT my lover lip, that somehow caused me to feel another jolt of electricity move down my spine, and I opened my mouth.

* * *

I opened my eyes with a start, ceiling meeting my gaze. What the… I lay on my back on some very uncomfortable surface, and when I sat up.. how the HELL did I end up here? I was currently sitting on the roof beam in the guild. How..?

Flashes of yesterday played out in my mind, how Freed had been running around while yelling maniacally and drawing runes absolutely everywhere. Levy was drunk, she could do little to counter them, and my skills when it came to runes were limited at best as well. Which was why things went out of hand in no time. Some runes dictated shots to be taken, some dictated fights. Some dictated things to be done or poses to be struck. Safe to say, I doubted anyone remained sober by the end of it, both due to runes and possible psychological damage.

Amongst other things I think I saw Elfman kiss Gray as they landed on a kissing rune, something that made Juvia start crying from where she was stuck in a double shot rune, almost drowning Jet that was in there with her before he managed to force the shoths down her throat and thusly make her flow the hall for a while.

That kiss… I wasn't quite sure what happened there. It might all be a alcohol induced dream. The gods knew I got a few weird images that couldn't possibly be real happenings. As for Freed? That was the night we figured out that he didn't handle Tequila too well.

Later that day, after I got rescued from my predicament, Levy was recovered. Allegedly she had spent hours wandering about in the forest looking for me. Natsu was found on a raft that was tied to the shore by the ocean just outside the guild, muttering with a hoarse voice for someone, anyone, to come rescue him. Gray was hanging by his feet, upside down, in a nearby tree.

Erza was found sleeping in the kitchen, the whole area badly damaged since she, y the looks of it, had attempted to bake a cake, a terrified Droy hiding in a nearby cupboard since the redhead for a while had mistaken him for flour and had attempted to cut him open so she could mix it into the bowl.

Cana didn't show up for three days, having gone on quite a few extraordinary adventures herself after waking up in Hargeon, no matter HOW she got there in the first place. But THAT.. THAT is another story entirely.

Freed? Well. Freed spent the rest of the day sitting by a table with his face in his hands, muttering about how he didn't understand what got over him, how important absolute rules were, and what a terrible headache he had. No one could blame him since he had been drinking exceedingly much for a person that usually remained sober at these nightly gatherings.

***Because Freed needs to have some fun every now and then too. I kind of like him though he can be too dull sometimes. So here you go, the tale where Freed lost control and the whole guild and parts of Magnlia had to pay for it.***


	4. The Rum Diaries

***I get bored, sometimes. And sometimes boredom leads to watching tons of series on my computer, or, like now, some rather interesting stories. This would be one of them. I thought of it somewhere in between the transition between one show that I finished and the next to come. Don't get me wrong, I am currently watching that show now. I AM able to multitask at rare occasions though it tends to throw me out of sync.

I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. That would require consistency***

"I am drunk..?" it was a statement, but I still ended it as if it was a question.. kind of. Because I REALLY felt drunk.

"Yes. Yes you are," Cana Alberona confirmed before chugging the remaining.. something.. in her current barrel before putting it on the ground. A boy took it away right away. He had to be an intern due to the brief look he gave us, filled with disbelief, but his mentor had trained him well. He didn't mutter a word.

"Where are we?" was my next question, an actual question this time. The kind that would do fine with an answer. Man, my mind was off. I DID know that this wasn't Fairy Tail, however. This was some kind of bar or pub or something. A relatively low roof, smoke making the air misty, very few lights. The only one I knew was Cana, the two of us seated in a booth for ourselves, a booth shaped as a horseshoe with enough space for more than the two of us, but still only we sat there. For now. I actually woke up here. Wh would've known.

"Hargeon," she replied after the same intern came rolling in with another barrel of.. something.. and left with the money Cana gave him for it. Hargeon. We were in.. Hargeon? Why? And when did.. I didn't remember going to Hargeon.

"When..?" I asked, and to my surprise she upped her barrel and filled a small cup I hadn't noticed standing on the table in front of us. It was nothing compared to the remaining content of the barrel, but the very notion of her even thinking of sharing her booze with anyone was almost unheard of.

"Who knows, found YOU in the gutter for a change. The bartender helped me carry you in. A new boy. I think I'll get to know him better later, but first, drink." she nodded towards the cup, and I obliged, picked it up and took a sip. Rum. So I was found in the gutter? If the boy that brought my fellow Fairy Tail booze had been carrying me in here there was no wonder he gave us odd looks. Getting used to Fairy Tail behavior took time, if getting used to it was at all possible.

"Wouldn't pubs refuse to bring passed out people into their premises? They have people that would toss drunken customers out, you know." I tried to reason. If I was passed out drunk a place that served liquor wouldn't normally just let me in. It would be bad for business. Then again, my friend could be very persuasive if she wanted to, even violently so. More than once I had seen her knock out people by throwing her barrels if arguments didn't work in her favor.

"I know, but we're Fairies, and that makes a difference. This booth is permanently reserved for us, and we get to do pretty much anything we want." she said it as if it was the most self explanatory thing in the world. I didn't see her logic, so I decided to try making her explain it.

"Why?" I asked. Way to go me and my coherent questions... Oh well, it made enough sense for her to understand the basics. I could understand that Fairy Tail would WANT to have reserved areas to hang out when not in Magnolia, but I couldn't really comprehend why any place would allow that. Fairy Tail was after all known for the destruction we tended to leave behind.

"Fairy Tail is a guild known for craziness, but above all else, we are known to pay up." she explained as if she read my mind, thankfully. Now when I thought about it, I guess we HAD to be known for paying up too, or else we would become a dark guild in no time. Debt would be a weird way to go for our guild, but I was certain the council would've jumped the opportunity to disband the guild that stood for most of the destruction of private and public property in Fiore.

"Come on, drink some more," she continued urging me, and I once more obliged. I was drunk, I think, and obviously had nothing better to do. I couldn't say I was too fond of rum, but I had tasted worse. So I was found in the gutter, by Cana, and brought to a place where she seemed to be a regular. Great. At least it was a Fairy that found me rather than anyone else.

"So, what are YOU doing here then?" I asked, since she wasn't likely to know why I was here by the looks of it. She was a regular, probably. Ugh, why did I ask that? She was here drinking, obviously. But still. Maybe she was here due to something else BEFORE she decided that she wanted to go to this place for a drink. It was kind of far to just walk by.

"Don't know." she replied and proceeded to take a massive chug of her barrel. So she was here on drunk adventures too. Had I been with anyone when I decided that Hargeon was the place to go? Had I been in Hargeon to begin with, perhaps? The only thing I knew right now was that I felt drunk, and that I according to Cana was in the town of Hargeon, and that neither of us knew how we got here. Cana accepted the notion willingly, and with the amount of booze she ingested that could be understandable. I felt sort of curious however. What was I doing before?

"You know, I AM going to get to know the new kid better. You stay here, okay? Watch the booze." and with that, she stood up and started walking towards the bar area, her hips swaying seductively. I was left behind with a barrel and a cup of rum, sitting alone in the booth reserved for Fairy Tail. When left alone I got more time to think about why I had been in the gutter.

Had I been on a mission before I ended up here? If so, would the rest of Team Natsu be around looking for me, or would they be somewhere while being equally intoxicated? Or had it only been me and Natsu? Perhaps even just me? Did anyone miss me? My face felt sore. Why was that? Had I been in a fight before this? Was I injured?

"You want something to eat, miss?" came a more seasoned man, a man in his late twenties. Not a senior, perhaps, but older than the lad Cana had picked as her next victim. He seemed like the kind of person that wouldn't be surprised by just anything.

"Ah, no, I'm not that hungry, and besides, I don't have any money," I smiled, and he sat down, smiled at me too.

"I can put it on the Fairy Tail bill, we are quite known for our outstanding fried chicken wings here at The Weeping Widow. That and rum, but you already tried that," he said it in such a friendly voice. The lad seemed like the kind of person that would fit better at a bar rather than a pub. And "The Weeping Widow"? A shifty name. The famous rum might explain why Cana was here though, relatively far away from Magnolia.

"Nah, I think I'll have to pass on that. When did I get here?" I asked the question. He seemed like a nice guy. He might help me figure out SOME details.

"A few hours ago. Walt over there carried you in after Cana persuaded him. Poor kid, he doesn't stand a chance against a woman like her," he chuckled as he sent a glance across the darkened room where the two of them were situated. I could hardly see them due to the smoke and the sparse light. So I had been here for at least a couple of hours. Perhaps more. Good to know.

"You were dead drunk, apparently, but you don't strike me as a binge drinker," he continued, and my attention went back to the guy in from of me. Light blue hair, piercing blue eyes and a smile that might suggest that though he was nice now, he might have a wilder side to him too.

"How would you know that?" I asked back, and his grin widened. Definitely a wild side there. He pointed to the cup that was all but full even with the sips I had taken out of it. A clear sign of someone that was less seasoned in the arts of drinking.

"I know my stuff. My old man used to run this place, though my Ma took over after he died. Name's Jack, by the way. Everyone calls me Jack. I haven't seen you around before, so who're you?" he asked me, ignored a call for refills from one of the other booths. I saw an old woman with grey hair respond to the call. This mans mother, apparently.

"I'm Lucy. Lucy of Fairy Tail." I replied. There was no harm in telling this man my name, after all. He already gave me his, so even though I didn't technically know him, it felt like the right thing to do.

"A nice name. Now I don't know much about guilds, Lucy of Fairy Tail, but I know there are something called teams. You on a team or are you going solo like your friend?" he asked. He sure was a curious one, that Jack. Of course I WAS in a team, and sort of proud to be too. Erza had made sure of that.

"You're right, some people DO form teams within a guild. I'm a member of Team Natsu," I replied, took another sip of the rum The Weeping Widow allegedly was famous for. I guess it wasn't THAT bad. It had a sort of rich taste I could appreciate in my already existing level of intoxication. When I sobered up again it would probably taste foul once more.

"Wow! THE Team Natsu? As in the strongest team in Fairy Tail? Impressive!" Jack praised me, and I laughed. I guess my team would be quite famous.

"And surprising, I bet. As well as not being a professional drinker I don't seem like your typical super strong mage." I continued.

"I didn't say a thing about that." he protested, but I saw through him.

"But you thought it. Don't worry, you're sort of right. Sometimes I wonder why I'm on that team myself," the last statement was more of a muttering before I took another sip from my cup, let the alcohol work its magic. I was drunk. I think. Or at least I thought I was, though the effect was going away faster than I'd anticipated. Strange…

"I'm sure you're a strong mage. Not anyone would've been able to prove themselves against the Titania or the Salamander." he argued, and I chuckled.

"Natsu's a dork once you get to know him, and Erza really is nice when she's not punishing people, though she's still scary as hell, while Gray is nice as long as Natsu isn't anywhere nearby, that is if you ignore his constant stripping. I wouldn't be able to fight any of them even if I tried to," I shivered by the mere prospect of meeting any of them in close combat. I would surely die.

"Where are they now?" he asked further.

"I don't know. You don't happen to know a nearby area that's currently being leveled by Team Natsu at the moment, do you?" I asked him in a sort of playful tone, though I sort of hoped that the boy in front of me would lay out about how Team Natsu currently was destroying buildings at the other side of town. But he laughed instead. I guess that wish WAS kind of far fetched.

"No, sorry to disappoint you. I DO however know someone that might be able to contact them if you want," he suggested, and I smiled at him.

"That would be really nice!" I declared, an even brighter smile lighting up my face. Perhaps did THEY know what was going on, even if I might've not been with them before all this.

"That decides it then, come with me," he got up walked over to me as I got up too, a bit more unsteady that I thought I'd be, but he was there to support me. I noticed his garb, consisting of a black t-shirt and white shorts that reached down to his knees. He wore sandals.

"Watch out there, Lucy, the booze is still in your system, whatever it is that made you black out the first time. The rum is quite potent stuff too," he said. We started walking, the two of us, and I held onto his arm to keep my balance, briefly noting that I could see Cana no longer, though the dark kept me from being certain if she had really left the premises.

Out we went, out where I could see that this was a dark alley, a back alley that no one would venture down unless their primary goal was The Weeping Widow, or perhaps some of those shifty doors that probably led to private homes. It was silent, and it was late. The stars were barely visible up there since the streetlights didn't start before one of the bigger streets down the hill.

"Just in here, now that wasn't far at all, was it," he teased as he stopped in front of one of the shifty doors. Ah, shifty doors. But someone inside would know where the rest of my Team was, surely.

"Nah, that wasn't far at all." I answered, really DID feel the effect of the rum. He chuckled at my absentmindedness as he pushed the handle down, helped me over the threshold and into a dark room. I couldn't see a thing since there were no windows. Was this REALLY such a good idea? My brain started to question my judgement and I had almost decided that going back to the pub might be a good idea when the lights were turned on and blinded for a short moment.

It was a white room, sort of, with a filthy dirt floor almost covered by unconscious females around my age or slightly older sleeping by the walls. That was not what occurred to my blurred mind first though. Just a detail. A detail I would've thought of anyways as I recognized the person in front of me. I had once stared at him with awe, wanted to do anything to please him since I believed that he would help me accomplish my dream.

"Bora.. Bora of Prominence." I stated simply. There he was, with the same blue hair, the tattoo over his right eye, even that wrecked cape of his. Bora, the man I had believed to be Salamander. A man working in the human trafficking business. Shit. I reached for my keys, keys that weren't there. Double shit. Since when had I been without my keys? Had I ever had them during my current stay in Hargeon? The ground was swaying beneath me, reminding me of that time on the boat when this very man had tossed my keys into the ocean.

"Well well, darling, we meet again. Revenge's a bitch, aint it but?" he stated sweetly right before my knees hit the ground and I felt the rest of my body falling. Shit was not a covering word for this. Damn neither. I was utterly fucked. Screwed. And I STILL didn't know how I got here in the first place. Damn, I was tired...

***Because my series are important, and besides, I don't normally exceed my usual limit of around 2000 words in the early stages. This was intended to be a one shot, but when Bora decided that he wanted to enter the show I could hardly refuse the idea that formed around his appearance. I might continue this, extend it to be a two shot or something. If I decide that it earns a place amongst my stories exceeding the two chapter limit I might dedicate an own brilliant Title to it rather than a mere chapter or two. Depends if I find my own continuation to be entertaining enough***


	5. The Rum Diaries 2

***And here we have the next chapter of The Rum Diaries. Thought I might finish it up since I found myself being curious as to how it all would go. I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. My days are boring nowadays, but I find a certain consolidation in writing my little tales in order to entertain myself***

The Weeping Widow was famous for its chicken wings and home brewed rum. It was one of those places that would be passed by unknowing tourists, but that the ones that knew to appreciate the rich taste of rum would frequent. Cana Alberona was one of those that knew, and she often ended up sitting there, sometimes alone, with her own barrel and just listening to the others talk. Some valuable information sometimes came up during her visits.

It was one of those lone nights, a night when Cana was stumbling along the cobbled streets of Hargeon, getting odd glances from the few that still ventured outside but that now were hastening their steps towards their home when the amount of drunks increased. She didn't mind, they could go back to their dull lives if they wanted to, but she would continue on her way to the pub she always visited when she found herself in Hargeon, the city by the sea. Never mind HOW she got there in the first place. It often happened that she found herself in this city by the sea without knowing the specifics as to how she got there.

It had been a surprise when Lucy Heartfilia was found in the corner of some of the dark alleys Cana had decided to pass by on her way to the pub, unconscious at first and highly disoriented when the brunette finally managed to get some life into her. Disoriented and uttering nonsense as if very very drunk. So Cana continued on to the pub, found an intern and convinced him to help her carry the girl into the reserved Fairy Tail booth. He was fresh off the racks, the boy, the kind that she would very much like to get to know better. That is, after Lucy regained consciousness.

She did, a few barrels later. It was getting late, but not too late to go and talk to the intern. He sure was new, and not very experienced with the wiles of a woman. So she left Lucy with the remaining barrel after a brief talk that told her the blonde friend was okay. Lucy could take care of herself. She was strong. And drunk, by the looks of it. She would sober up eventually.

The boy was such a perfect victim. Young and inexperienced. Hot. Definitely hot. A perfect plaything to pass the time, worth every second of it. At least that was what she believed until she returned to the table to find Lucy Heartfilia gone. Without a trace, and oddly enough with an almost emptied cup of rum that smelled strange. Sedation had been added to the cup.

* * *

Cana fumbled with her lacrima ball in her hurry to contact the guild. It was late, or rather.. early might be a more accurate name for it. Most members had a lacrima in order to contact the guild in cases of emergency. Such as now. Her fingers were shaking due to the oncoming hangover and the stress from the vision her cards had given her. Lucy was gone, and she didn't know to where, but it didn't bode well.

"OI! Mira, you there?" she asked the moment the ball started to respond, and a moment later the image of the beauty herself showed up, her silvery white hair flowing down in soft waves.

"Hey, Cana? What's up?" she asked, a soft smile on her face though she seemed a bit preoccupied. Perhaps did she have a lot of costumers today, which didn't really make sense considering the time. Perhaps had she been awoken by the call. Not that it was important. Other things were more important.

"I need to speak to Master." the card mage said urgently, and the barmaid knitted her brows. Master was probably asleep.

"He is busy at the moment, what is this about?" she asked. So Master wasn't asleep. Was there a reason to why Lucy was in Hargeon in the first place? Did they already know?

"I'd like to report Lucy Heartfilia missing." she stated it quickly in order to get it over with. Silence.

"Where are you?" she asked, the barmaid that now had lost her mild smile.

"I'm at The Weeping Willow in Hargeon," Cana replied, looking about to see that Old Ma, the owner, was looking at her curiously. Upon asking her Cana had gotten to know that Lucy had been talking to some man, a young fellow that Old Ma hadn't seen before. Handsome, by the sounds of it, but Lucy wasn't one to shamelessly flirt with strangers. She was all too innocent for that.

"I'll contact Team Natsu right away, they'll meet you at the train station. Did your cards tell you WHERE she got taken?" Mira asked, assuming that Lucys disappearance only had appeared in the tarot cards of the brunette.

"No, and that's the problem. I only know that she left the pub with a guy. I wouldn't have worried, but Old Ma told me the boy was acting suspiciously, as in.." she was about to specify just how suspicious the stranger had been when the barmaid interrupted her.

"Wait. She was there? That's odd…" Mira said.

"What do you mean, odd? Was she supposed to be somewhere else?" Cana asked back. It could very well be that the sweet innocent Lucy had been off without telling anyone.

"Yes. Erza reported her missing several hours ago. Team Natsu was helping Blue Pegasus take down some dark mages that were creating havoc in the nearby mountains. She disappeared from there." Mira said, and now things got more confusing. How could she get all the way from THERE to HERE?

"That IS odd. Well, I'll head off to the train station then, and I'll keep you posted," the brunette was preparing to leave, and Mira was clearly indicating that the conversation was nearing its end too.

"Good, we'll see what we can do from here too. Ah, another call. Loke? Yes, we already know she's missing. From WHERE you say?" and with that Mira faded out and left Cana in the darkened room, only accompanied by Old Ma that at the moment was busy cleaning glasses.

"Did you get a hold of your friends?" she asked as the younger woman hid the lacrima away in her purse, heading for the door.

"Yes, I'm heading out to meet Lucys teammates at the station now." Cana replied.

"Okay dear. I'll call it in if that fellow shows up again. No one messes with Old Ma's Rum and gets away with it. Good luck, dearie." the old woman said, that old, partly toothless smile of hers signifying her goodbye for this time.

Cana carefully closed the door to the pub behind her, contemplating the shortest route to the train station. If she knew Erza, and she did, the Titania would be arriving there at any moment now, and she was not one to be known as patient. Just as she took her first steps though she stopped. A rumbling was all that alerted her. A rumbling from a car, coming from.. above?

Just as the thought struck her a car DID appear from the roof, falling down to the ground with a huge crash and effectively totaling it at that very moment. Erza, the driver of the SE plugged vehicle let go of the steering wheel, the seemingly only whole remaining part of the car only to gaze directly at Cana Alberona, the person she had been looking for. Well.. that was fast. A hand twitched up from the rubble of the car, but the females ignored it.

"I came as fast as I could," Erza declared, leaned heavily on the wall since she obviously had overexerted herself tremendously in order to get here in such a short time.

"She only left a few hours ago, so she can't have gotten too.." a boom interrupted Cana before she got to the end as a door was kicked off its hinges and flew across the street before it was imbedded in the wall on the opposite side. A pink head appeared from the rubble of the vehicle Team Natsu had arrived in, the boy it belonged to smiling like a fool as he uttered what everyone saw the moment after.

"LUCY!" Natsu Dragneel exclaimed, and fair enough, there she stood, the blonde girl they all had been looking for, her fists clenched and her foot raised after she had sent a possible assailant, which they now noticed laying in a heap beneath the door. Lucy kick, a deadly attack. The boys would know.

"Natsu?" she asked, question in her tone as she turned to her scarfed partner, her head cocked to the side.

"What're you doing?" he asked, freeing himself from the rubble, Gray soon following, all but forgotten where he lay on the bottom, groaning due to the force of the impact earlier.

"Bora tried groping me," the blonde replied, indignation in her voice.

"Who's Bora?" asked Natsu.

"Oi…" came the protest from the body by the door. He was ignored.

"Not important. What're you guys doing here? Did you defeat the mage?" Lucy asked further. Her partner grinned wider.

"We kicked their asses!" he exclaimed.

"Aye Sir!" Happy agreed, somehow unscathed. It was suspected that he had flown out of the car before it hit the ground. Lucy smiled too then, her battle stance relaxed and she put the foot down on the ground again.

"Good." she said with finality.

"We were worried about you, Lucy. One of the enemies claimed you were dead," Erza put in, and the girl nodded.

"After Erza had a little talk with him, however, we got to know that he was lying, though he didn't know WHAT would happen. When Cana reported that she'd seen you we headed right over," Gray explained, his shirt already laying on the ground next to him. Lucy nodded again.

"Do you have my keys?" she asked further, the Celestial Mage. Erza shook her head.

"Don't you?" she asked.

"Right before I hung up on Mira Loke called in. I didn't get to hear where he was, but I suspect he has your keys," Cana intervened, and Lucy sighed in relief. So there they stood, Team Natsu reunited, at the moment together with Cana Alberona.

"I'm hungry," Natsu Dragneel declared, his stomach joining in with a rumbling agreement. Lucy giggled and Erza smiled. The danger seemed averted for now.

"I know the perfect place just by the dock," Erza said, and the lot of them started walking towards the place. Natsu needed food after all, and according to Erza the dessert menu was quite impressive too.

No one seemed to care about Bora that remained in a heap by the door, weakly calling for attention to no avail, nor did they seem to care about the women that started running out through the opening where Lucy had kicked the door open. Not a single one of them flinched either when a blue haired mage tried sneaking out unnoticed, only to be hit to the ground by a enraged Old Ma that did not appreciate her rum being tempered with, no matter the reason. The sedative had affected the taste, something she would not allow.

Natsu quickly caught up to his female partner, his hands resting on the back of his head, his elbows elevated into the air.

"What's up with the dress?" he asked, and his partner looked down, only to notice that she was wearing a snowy white dress that reached down to her knees, her feet bare.

"I don't know," she replied thoughtfully.

"You're weird," he said and she hit him while replying that no she was not. Cana could inform them that she had been wearing the dress all along, and when they sat down Loke appeared in a cloud of black smoke, uttering something about not ever wanting to try out that way of teleportation ever again. Apparently he had suddenly found himself in Bosco near the border to Fiore. He too could account for the fact that no, Lucy had NOT been wearing that dress when she disappeared.

The rest of the evening was spent eating until they all got tossed out after Natsu set fire to the chef after Gray accidentally froze him and Cana tried dousing the fire with her barrel of alcohol that unfortunately held such a high level of alcohol that it caused an explosion. Somehow they all managed to save the majority of the other guests, including the chef that got treatment from Wendy soon after since she and Team Shadowgear had passed by Hargeon on their way back from a mission. Once again most of the reward gained from the mission went to damage repair.

***And like that I chose to end the current story with enough extra material to continue it should I ever feel the urge to continue it without putting so much in it that I would HAVE to continue it. Now I have stuff to do, but I might put another tale into Drinking Out after a while***


End file.
